this morning on "early today," divide and conquer. mitt romney and paul ryan split up on the campaign trail to take on president obama. snap attack. scary moments when a live alligator show in ohio goes terribly wrong. and striking similarities. nasa's curiosity rover sends back a photo of mars of a nasa's curiosity rover sends back a photo of mars of a strangely familiar terrain. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm mara compo. today we begin with running mates. after a week of being side by side, romney and paul ryan will be campaigning solo until the

republican convention. the two drew huge crowds last night in ryan's home state of wisconsin after making a pit stop in north carolina sunday morning. claire laka joins us with the details. >> reporter: good morning to you, mara. in their first interview together on "60 minutes" mitt romney made it clear that he was calling the shots and that the ticket would campaign on his budget. >> my veins run -- >> reporter: thousands of supporters turned out to welcome home wisconsin's native son and now presumptive republican vice presidential nominee. >> so when we win this election, we go fix this mess in washington. >> reporter: in the 48 hours since congressman paul ryan was added to the romney ticket, the gop presidential campaign has fired up. >> i guess you think i made the right decision, the right choice? yeah, i know i did. >> reporter: president obama in

his hometown of chicago moved fast to define ryan by his budget plan and tie romney to it. >> this kind of top down economics is central to governor romney and it isentral to his running mate. just yesterday morning my opponent chose his running mate. the ideological leader of the republicans in congress, mr. paul ryan. i want to congratulate -- no, no, no. >> reporter: the gop campaign will divide and conquer this week. the romney bus tour rolls into florida today without ryan. the wisconsin native heads to drought stricken iowa, the same state the president campaigns in today. obama will tour a farm in iowa and announce that the agriculture department is buying up pork, lamb, chicken and catfish to help support farmers suffering from a very hot and dry season. that's while romney headlines a morning rally in st. augustine before he heads to miami later this afternoon.

we're live in washington. i'm claire leka. thank you. syrian activists and rebels are trying to counter bashar al assad's increasingly strong air attacks. secretary of state hillary clinton discussed with turkey a number of options to aid the syrian opposition, including a no fly zone, however, no decisions were made. this as syrian jets attacked areas in and around aleppo, the country's largest city on sunday. meanwhile, two bomb attacks were reported in damascus. egypt's new president has forced out top officials. president mohammed morsi made the surprise news yesterday to order the retirement of the defense minister and the chief of staff and the commanders of the navy, air defense, and air force. he canceled a military declared constitutional amendment that gave top generals wide powers. morsi also swore in a new defense minister in a brief ceremony yesterday and appointed

a pro reform judge as his new vice president. a u.s. navy ship is at a port in dubai after colliding with an oil tanker in the persian gulf. the guided missile destroyer, the "u.s.s. porter" struck the straight of hormuz. it was left with a gaping 10 foot by 10 foot hole in the starboard side after the accident. it can still operate on its own while they assess the damage. the cause of the accident is being investigated but it was not combat related. there were no injuries. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in ohio an alligator handler is recovering after the animal he was showing at a county fair bit down and pinned his arm. the trainer had been walking around the gator when he slipped. whirn were among those in the crowd who watched in horror for 21 seconds until the reptile finally released its grip. in florida crime is all in the family. surveillance video shows what sheriff video shows a mom and

son theft ring. the pair allegedly stole more than $1 million worth of merchandise from stores nationwide for more than a decade. they used big boxes meant for cheaper items to hide the more expensive goods at the checkout stands. near phoenix this year's epic drought may be to blame for another massive dust cloud in the skies of arizona. winds of up to 40 miles an hour forced roads to be shut down while the storm blew through. finally in california, if you thought flying could be a choer, trying pulling the plane. that's what competitors did this weekend as teams of 25 raced to see who can tow a 162,000 pound air bus jet the fastest. they managed to put in something more important, raising $75,000 for the special olympics. now here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather forecast. >> good morning. we haven't been on the air with our newscast because of the olympics.

no one on the west missed the forecast whatsoever. it was sunny and hot every single day. good morning to you. we continue the incredible heat and record heat yesterday. here's our august rainfall totals. none from l.a. to san francisco. western california hasn't seen any. vegas did get one shower that dropped 1/4 inch. phoenix had only had a trace. even a trace in the areas that have had a wet and cool summer. at the tail end of your summer it's been blockbuster up here in the northwest. 94 in portland, 96 in boise. we're trying to make up for all the lost time at the dwing of the summer. it was 109 in vegas and phoenix 115. that was a record high there. that was not a record in medford. your record was 107. notice, still san francisco one of the few spots that helps you get the feel of the heat. this morning temperatures are still very warm in the desert. still in the 90s. that's going to lead to a hot day. you don't get much relief at night like this. you'll see temperatures soaring. weather wise, we had some

monsoonal moisture. showers hit and miss. we expect that to be more miss than hit today. 114 in phoenix. near 100 degrees in boise all the way through medford. slightly cooler in portland at 86. temperatures are still very warm. as i mentioned, no real rainstorms in sight. s week. as we talked, the middle of the country has the heat and drought. all the heat shifted to the west and still sitting there. >> 114 in phoenix. it's really hard to complain about the heat here when you're seeing temperatures like that. thank you, bill. well, gas prices soar, tablet wars heat up and a little retail therapy to cure your taste of olympic withdrawal.

your early morning business headlines continue. what goes up must come down "dark knight" rise at the box office. a sparkling review for andrew luck, chad johnson's career is in jeopardy and quite possibly the catch of the year. you're watching "early today." >> announcer: "early today" is brought to you by caltrate.

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm mara compo. here are your top headlines this morning. more than 5,000 people injured in deadly earthquakes in iran are crowding hospitals today. more than 300 people were killed in the quakes that affected more than a thousand villages, 20 of which were destroyed. london was hit by its worst fire in years as a blaze broke out at a recycling center. the fire sent a big plume of

smoke into the air. they were expected to retain the flames with no affect on the closing ceremonies 7 miles away. here at home the powerball jackpot has gone to $305 million after no one hit all numbers in saturday night's driving. people matched five numbers and powerball officials expect a surge in sales because of the bigger new jackpot. from mars the curiosity rover sent back to earth its first high resolution color mosaic around its landing sight. it shows a death valley landscape. meanwhile, the rover will be getting what nasa scientists call a brain transplant in stages over the next few days. the curiosity software update will allow it to move around on the martian surface and avoid obstacles. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,207 after gaining 42 points friday. the s&p was up 3 and the nasdaq added 2.

taking a look overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei lost 6 points while in hong kong the hang seng fell 54. and september's market curse looms ahead. stocks could continue to climb during these dog days of summer. this week the consumer takes center stage with earnings from home depot, walmart and the gap. investors will also get an update on just how much americans are spending with the july retail sales report. other important data on deck includes consumer and producer inflation numbers and more updates on the housing market. overseas asian markets struggled to make head way this morning after news japan's economy grew at a slower than expected rate in the second quarter thanks in part to the effects of europe's debt crisis. in china occupy protesters in hong kong say they have to relocate at the end of the month. hsbc has the right to clear activists out of a space below the bank's headquarters. atm maker ncr is going to

investigate violations of doing business in syria. here at home the latest lundberg survey says the nation saw the biggest two week gas hike this year with the cost of regular jumping 18 cents to an average $3.69 a gallon. back to school season has barnes & noble slashing the prices on its nook tablets as it battles amazon's kindle fire for space in student's bags. if you're suffering from olympic withdrawal maybe owning a piece of london 2012 history will help. a million items, bean bag chairs to night stands from the athlete's village are for sale online. a run away victory at the pga championship. he dropped the name ochocinco, but now he might be losing number. plus one blue jay takes flight and steals a home run. nice, quiet start to our work week forecast, but tuesday i'll let you know coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, as the summer winds down, major league teams are gearing up for the hunt for october and a shot at playoff baseball. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports

headlines. good morning. with the olympics now over, the focus turns to america's pastime. baseball phyllis and cards tied in the 11th. grounder to short but rafael furcal guns down pierre. phillies walk off with an 8-7 win. josh hamilton continues to fight his way out of a slump. his third homer in four games. to san francisco, hundred ter pens hitting his first home run with the giants. 3-run blast. giants rally to beat the rockies 9-6. golf, when rory mcilroy wins, he wins big. he took the pga championship with another eight shot victory. the largest victory ever in a pga championship. tiger woods finished tight for 11th. chad johnson's career is likely over. the miami dolphins cut the wide receiver after he was arrested on a domestic battery charge. it's a classic case of he said

she said. evelyn lozoda says he head butted her. ochocinco's time in miami is over. on the flip side, andrew luck's career is off to a promising start. a touchdown on his first ever nfl pass. donald brown 63 yards to the house. colts beat the rams 38-3. finally, back to baseball for what could be the catch of the year. blue jays and yankees, casey ma gee lifting one to left. deep enough for a home run. rajai davis wasn't having it. climbs the wall and robs ma gee of a sure home run. worth another look. davis 5'9" times it perfectly using the wall as a step ladder and makes the spectacular catch. that is highway robbery. blue jays down the yankees 11-7. which former star is heading back down the aisle. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, everyone has a

favorite pizza, right? how far would you go to get it? you're watching "early today."

welcome back to shoe. another beautiful, warm day if you like the summer heat throughout all of the west. only exceptions being around san francisco, immediate coastal california. temperatures not quite as warm today as yesterday. oregon and washington state. still a nice, beautiful day. interior west still brutally hot from interior valleys of

california all the way up through idaho and nevada through the deserts of arizona. not a lot changes tomorrow. we knock the temperatures down a little bit trying to sneak through salt lake city and also up in the northwest will drop you into the 70s. still pretty dry throughout all of the region. if you're watching us on nbc 7 in california, make grass and test your knot tying skills at sailor's days. that's the pacific event of the day. mara. i know how to do a square knot. >> yeah, i don't think i could do that much but people can go and learn at the museum. thank you, bill. well, now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. stepping into matt damon's shoes is no small fete. jeremy managed to pull it off. the "boyd legacy" topped the box office with an estimated $40.3 million. it's the first without matt damon who decided to step away

from the series. in second place the will ferrell election comedy "the campaign" pulled in 27.4 million. "the dark knight rises" fell to number 3 spot with $19.5 million. in fourth place, "hope springs" starring meryl streep, tommy lee jones, that earned a respectable $15.6 million. finally, seven years after her marriage to brad pith et ended divorce, jennifer aniston decided to try it again. there's no word yet on a date for the nuptuals. >> i'll speak for all the tabloids. is she pregnant? >> never ends for anybody. when are you getting married, when's the baby coming? >> they're getting married at the same time that brad and angelina did. >> they were getting married for the last five or ten years. >> we're ready for that wedding to happen. and this comes to us from

whdh 7 news in boston. there's proof that you just can't beat hometown cooking even when home is more than 1500 miles away. that's why every year a mississippi man drives all the way back to the place where he grew up in massachusetts to pick up pizza for his family back in the south. this year he loaded up 250 pies for his relatives and of course himself. last year's haul fed his family for nearly the entire year. i'm mara compo. this is "early today," your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

forget mountains or streets, cyclists in hungary have taken to the ground. they've raced through an old stone mine in budapest. the race course runs over 1 mile. the dark tunnels make for a tricky race as competitors must navigate slippery floors and narrow corridors. in china one ethnic group doesn't let the summer heat get in the way of their fest tifts. thousands gathered for the annual torch festival when torches and bon fires are lit for a warrior who drove away locusts. they also have bull fighting, horse racing and beauty contests. the sky over london was lit up last night as the olympic summer games came to a close. a spectacular fireworks daze

display dazzled the capital while 80,000 fans watched. 300 million worldwide tuned in. the end of the ceremony was marked by a handover to rio which will host the 2016 games. despite that impressive show of fireworks, the spice girls were the highlight. >> do you have a favorite spice girl? >> malbe. >> i'm a new mom. >> i'm starting my campaign to go to rio now. >> maybe we should team up. >> together. >> you can do stories on the beach. time now for an earl live look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in norfolk, virginia, a sentencing will be held for muhammad shabin, his role for chief negotiator for pirates who killed people in february. he's the highest ranking pirate the u.s. has captured. today a former cuban leader fidel castro turns 86 years old. and tonight first lady

michelle obama will appear on the "tonight" show with jay leno. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments and those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with ""nbc nightly news."" finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on "the today show." new details on jennifer aniston's engagement to just continue thorough. the fray performs live on the plaza. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm mara compo, thanks for watching "early today" just your first stop of the day on your nbc station. first stop of the day on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com